Page 74 of Falling for the Enemy

I nod.

“Da, it was I who shredded his heart.” My eyes move to the man who sits on the floor in the corner of the studio, a bottle of vodka and half-filled glass at his side. His presence here is near-constant. As it should be since he’s the one Mina dances for. “With Casper’s help."

It was the night I turned sixteen.

The memory is one I won’t soon forget.

Alejandro doesn’t get the chance to respond. Not before Mina senses our stares and turns, the music that only she can hear falling silent. With a quick intake of breath, she tucks a lock of dark brown hair, a genetic trait she inherited from Mama, behind her ear.

It's our only differing feature.

I smile and blow her a kiss, letting her know it’s okay. The chokehold my emotions have on me makes it impossible to speak. She catches the kiss and presses it to her maimed heart before tapping her bottom lip, gesturing to my stitches.

"I'm fine," I tell her, finding my voice. "I'll always be fine. Just as I promised long ago." The reminder is one she often needs. “I’ll never leave you, Solnyshko.”

Little sun. It’s what I sometimes call her.

She nods before peering at Alejandro’s right shoulder, his muscular chest, along with the cartel tattoo that brands his tanned skin concealed by the shirt he now wears. I watch her face for signs of panic and fear, both holding the ability to cripple her at a moment’s notice.

He’s back? she signs in question.

I nod, the question not what I was expecting. "Da, he’s back. His name is Alejandro." The durak chooses this moment to kiss my temple, likely piquing her curiosity. I’ll need to further explain. Later, that is. One step at a time. "And he's going to help me kill Stefano."

Fingering the blue and silver charm bracelet that dangles from her wrist, another gift from Casper, she drops her gaze to the ground and gently rocks back and forth on her heels.

Though it may seem as if the terror that holds her in its relentless clutches, its invisible arms banding tightly around her psyche, is due to Stefano himself, it isn’t.

Nyet, she's scared of what he'll do to me.

Casper stands and goes to her, his strides long and purposeful. His presence will comfort her, but so will the words I'm about to speak.

"Just as he killed Vincent and Angelo."

Mina's head snaps up, focus landing on my neck as Casper slows, his tensed jaw relaxing the slightest bit. Such news should aid in cooling his fiery temper. If possible, he hated Angelo more than I. Maybe now he won’t despise Alejandro to such a degree.

Doubtful, but one can hope.

"You have no reason to believe me, princesa," Alejandro says, breaking the silence that has quickly fallen. "But I understand how much you love your sister because I love mine the same."

Mina stops rocking.

"And I promise you, I will render the entire world to ash without hesitation before I allow harm to come to Ari." His hold on me tightens, the embrace soothing. "Or you."

More walls collapse, crumbling to dust.

It's almost too much.

Despite the danger such a move poses, my imprisoned heart assures me that letting Alejandro in is the right thing to do. Yet my cautious soul shrieks repeated warnings at me, demanding I slow things down and rebuild my defenses in order to protect myself.

Capone's betrayal hurt.

Alejandro's would be my end.

His, too, since I’d then kill him.

Sensing the tension that rolls off me, the connection we share as strong as ever, Mina smiles and lifts her hands, signing three words I wrongly believed her crippling distrust of others would never allow.

Those words? I believe him.

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